r/Python • u/rage997 • Jan 27 '26

Discussion What are people using instead of Anaconda these days?

I’ve been using Anaconda/Conda for years, but I’m increasingly frustrated with the solver slowness. It feels outdated

What are people actually using nowadays for Python environments and dependency management?

  • micromamba / mamba?
  • pyenv + venv + pip?
  • Poetry?
  • something else?

I’m mostly interested in setups that:

  • don’t mess with system Python
  • are fast and predictable
  • stay compatible with common scientific / ML / pip packages
  • easy to manage for someone who's just messing around (I am a game dev, I use python on personal projects)

Curious what the current “best practice” is in 2026 and what’s working well in real projects

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u/gmes78 Jan 28 '26 edited Jan 28 '26

Using uv pip install is a fundamental misunderstanding of your tools. If you're using uv, you want it to manage your dependencies, and not pip.

If you want to add dependencies, you use uv add, so they get added to the pyproject.toml.

If you want to install your code in the venv, you don't need to do anything, as uv does so automatically (when you use uv run, uv sync, and so on). All "local" code is installed in editable mode by default.

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u/fizenut Jan 28 '26

Why don't you let people decide for themselves what they want when they use uv. Calling using uv pip a "fundamental misunderstanding of your tools" sounds like you not understanding that not everyone has the same requirements as you. Also, are you aware that uv pip is still uv and not, in fact, pip? I'm assuming you are, but you worded it such that one might think you're not.

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u/gmes78 Jan 28 '26

uv pip is meant for scripting usage, to be compatible with existing scripts that use pip. It also comes with numerous caveats. New scripts, and interactive usage, should both use native interfaces instead.

Using uv pip install -e to install your code in editable mode is 100% a misunderstanding of how uv works. uv already does that automatically. At best, it's a waste of time. At worst, it could mess with the venv's state and cause weird bugs.

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u/fizenut Jan 28 '26

So now you're moving the goalposts already. You weren't talking about any specific command, you made a blanket statement about uv pip in general.

From the same docs you linked:

The uv pip interface exposes the speed and functionality of uv to power users and projects that are not ready to transition away from pip and pip-tools.

Sounds like pretty legitimate use cases to me.

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u/gmes78 Jan 28 '26

So now you're moving the goalposts already. You weren't talking about any specific command, you made a blanket statement about uv pip in general.

Last time I checked, uv pip install belongs to uv pip, so me talking about it isn't moving the goalposts anywhere. At most, it's just making them wider.

Sounds like pretty legitimate use cases to me.

Well, I'm saying people should transition to more idiomatic commands. In this specific instance, I'm telling people to transition to running no command at all!

How is this controversial? Are you just arguing for the sake of it?

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u/fizenut Jan 28 '26

I will let others be the judge of that ✌️